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Leave the light on this Halloween.

Most of us remember, when children, there were times we were scared by that bump in the middle of the night. The unexpected awakening. The “Midnight Demon” seemed so real at 3:00am. He would destroy our dreams and reek havoc.

I dare say that today many of us still wake up in the night with bad dreams that still involve the “Midnight Demon”. Just as when the light of day comes about and the reality of the bad dreams goes away – it is the same with the Demon, away go the issues, the problems and blockages when light is turned on him.

As an adult I still think these Demons are real and effectively stand in our way of success. Although, like magic, when light is shined on our Demon we can then deal with him and I think the Demons among many of us can be described as two very different things, things that stand in the way of real potential.

The first Demon can be described as fear. The fear of failure. The fear of not being perfect. The fear of the unknown. The fear of openness. The fear of …

We each have our own …

Fear can be terrible and it can be debilitating. Fear causes us to hesitate, it causes us to question ourselves, to have the “I need the loo now, look”. We actually become less than our true selves, we start to doubt and ask, how we achieve greatness when we are not fully engaged? How can we achieve more when we are not allowed to be ourselves? Fear stifles creativity and the best creativity is open, free, boundless and exhilarating. How can you reach your full potential when you are literally choked by the Demon fear?

Courage overcomes fear. The first step in beating this Demon is shining the light of truth on him so you know he is not real. Remember the courage when you fear your Demon …

The second Demon who stops us fulfilling our potential is … the excuse.

The Demon becomes an excuse. He becomes the reason why people don’t ask the questions or try new things, why they stall when reaching for new heights, or even when attempting to learn new skills.

In essence, excuses become crutches or the Demons who you hide behind. Greatness comes with transparency and confession at our shortcomings. Excuses are not acceptable. Self awareness and self accountability lead to courage and success.

Something I have learned from my Demons? Become accountable, don’t fear mistakes or failure. Learn from them.